WINTER X 2008 PREVIEW: The Year of The Double
As for SuperPipe, it’s the Tanner vs. Simon show. And while Tanner has been keeping busy slaying pow in B.C. and across the world, the 24-year-old managed to craft an entirely new run for 2008. Say all you want about T-Hall, but he’s certainly not unimaginative or complacent. Instead of dropping in from the left side of the pipe like has every year, Tanner now drops in from the right side and is throwing an unnatural rightside 900 off the left wall on his first hit. He’s also throwing a super stylie alley-oop 3 near the bottom setting up for two 1080s on his final two hits. Suffice to say, it’s so rad it even inspired Jon Olsson to ski a few runs through the pipe.
While everybody talked about Tanner’s run and braved the single-digit temps, Simon Dumont methodically went about his way and worked on his run, where he apparently plans on throwing two 1260s in his run according to friend and announcer Mr. Luke Van Valin.
I’m not sure Tanner’s run can be beat as the Eric Iberg’s, Mike Douglas’, Uncle E’s, and head judge Josh Loubek’s of the world shook their heads in disbelief. But don’t count out Dumont. I seriously thought he was going to karate chop or decapitate someone at the bottom of the pipe after hearing “Tanner this and Tanner that.” The 21-year-old Target and Red Bull poster boy wants gold more than Guliani wants to be a bona fide drag queen.
It’s Winter X 2008 in Aspen, and my toes are frozen once again but the skiing is hotter than ever. Get here for Thursday’s night SuperPipe Final, or Friday’s Women’s SuperPipe Final (the Sarah/Grete show) and Ski Big Air (first ever) and Sunday’s Slopestyle Final. And the Powder Video and Reader Poll awards on Saturday night.
